Guilty verdicts in conspiracy to kidnap case – Grace Ong led Archie Manby for the Crown
Operation TAPIR – Kingston Crown Court. Grace Ong, leading Archie Manby, prosecuted this conspiracy to kidnap case investigated by the Flying Squad where the female victim, who was 6 months pregnant, was abducted metres from her home address and bundled into a stolen white van where she was kept for over 9 hours while ransom calls were made to her then partner. She was blindfolded and her hands tied with cable ties. During her captivity she was told by her kidnappers that her finger would be cut off and in the last but one ransom call her partner was told that she would be killed. The case involved multiple schedules produced by a cell site expert and police, and the calling of expert evidence by cell site and voice recognition experts. After a 5 week trial, the jury returned guilty verdicts in relation to 2 out of 3 defendants. Another defendant pleaded guilty 2 days before the trial.
